A hot deal via IWTF. Qantas and Air France are having a sale on flights to Paris. Travel is in Oct to Nov, 2018. Flights are with Qantas from Sydney to Shanghai, then Air France to Paris. Pricing is for payment with a debit card, so a small addition fee may apply to credit cards. Enjoy :)

Yes that may be the case, if the flight then has another silent stop over in China to collect more people and or refuel, you need a Visa.

i have personal experience on this. I had a transit through guangzhou, we were not aware of the silent refuel though in Wuan. Caused a huge issue at the airport on check in, requiring a very long reroute (thank you China southern for solving the travel agent stuff up though! We weren't told of the stop and were told point blank we didn't need the chinese visa).

Message - check the ticket carefully before you book and make sure there is no second stop in China.

144 hour visa-free transit now available in 6 cities, including Beijing!
72 hour visa-free transit is also available in other cities,

144 hour and 72 hour visa-free transit is available in many Chinese ports of entry. Escape the boring airport layover and experience the beauty of China!
Beijing Capital International Airport, Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport, Shanghai (Hongqiao International Airport, Pudong International Airport), Hangzhou (Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport), and Nanjing (Nanjing Lukou International Airport) will implement the policy of 144-hour Transit Visa Exemption for Foreign Nationals of 53 countries. Such foreign nationals should hold valid international travel documents and passenger tickets (by air/train/ship) of confirmed travel date and confirmed seats to a third country (or region, such as Hong Kong, China/ Macao, China/Taiwan, China).
(In addition to the 7 airports listed above, 144 hour visa-free transit is also available at railway stations and ports including Beijing West Railway Station, Dongjiang Port, Qinhuangdao Port, Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal and Shanghai Railway Station. Please ask the local Exit-entry authority for details.)
1. Applicable Countries
Nationals of 53 countries can enjoy the 144-hour transit visa exemption, which are:
1) 24 Schengen countries in Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
2) 15 other European countries: Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Republic of Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Monaco, Belarus.
3) 6 American countries: The United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
4) 2 Oceania countries: Australia and New Zealand.
5) 6 Asian countries: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
2. The Criteria for the Policy
1) The passengers should be foreign nationals with valid international travel documents and passenger tickets of confirmed travel date and seats to a third country (or region, such as Hong Kong, China/ Macao, China/Taiwan, China) within 144 hours.
2) The passengers should be nationals of the 53 applicable countries.
3) The passengers should enter into China from one of the Thirteen applicable ports: Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing West Railway Station, Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Dongjiang Port, Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport and Qinhuangdao Port, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai Railway Station, Nanjing Lukou International Airport, or Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, and also leave for a third country (or region, such as Hong Kong, China/ Macao, China/Taiwan, China) from one of these six city. The visa-free transit policy for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province is incompatible with the policy for Shanghai, Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province. Passengers may not travel betwwen both administrative regions.
4) Passengers with the 144-hour transit visa exemption should stay within the administrative region of Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities and Hebei province, Shanghai Municipalities, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, and their stay shall not exceed 144 hours. The time limit is calculated from 00:00 a.m. of the next day upon arrival. Passengers who obtain visa-free transit in the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei administrative region may not leave that region. The same applies for passengers who first arrive in the Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang administrative region.
5) This policy does not apply to foreign crew on ships for international travels and their accompanying family members.
In addition to 144 hour visa-free transit in the 6 cities above, China also offers 72 hour visa-free transit in 13 cities for certain foreigners holding a third-country visa. The 13 cities include Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Xi'an, Wuhan, Dalian, Guilin, Kunming, Chongqing, Harbin, Xiamen, Qingdao and Changsha. Applicable countries for 72 hour visa-free transit are the same as for 144 hour visa-free transit. Ask the local border control authorities or airport for details.